


Curcurbitacae

by CasualOtaku



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Red Hood/Arsenal (Comics), Red Robin (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magic, Blood and Gore, Folklore, M/M, Mentions of Sex, No Smut, Pumpkins, Vampires, Werewolves, Witchcraft, Witches, jaytimspooktober
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:35:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26833789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CasualOtaku/pseuds/CasualOtaku
Summary: Jason and Tim hear about the mysterious disappearance of the village potion master and decide to investigate.  Or rather Tm decides to investigate and Jason feels compelled to tag along.---This is a short side story set in the same universe as my earlier WIPDaemonium Occulo.  You don't need to have read that story to enjoy this one.
Relationships: Tim Drake & Jason Todd, Tim Drake/Jason Todd
Comments: 2
Kudos: 64





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to my beta @strawberryjei who inspired me to flesh out this story a lot more and helped me nail down the decision to make this a side story rather than trying to shoehorn it into the main narrative.

Tim was starting to think he might have been more sheltered than he’d thought at the start of this journey. He’d heard of what life was like in a small rural village, but that didn’t prepare him for the reality of Moore’s Pass. Small, single-room huts with thatched roofs served as the primary shelter for most of the residents. And as much as he didn’t want to appear snooty about the entire affair, Tim was actually grateful Jason had convinced him to make a few changes before they arrived. He’d swapped his signature red cloak for a drab brown cape, removed the pale lacquer on his nails, and blacked out the robin sigil on his horse’s flank.    
  
The simple fact that they were strangers had many an eye turning towards them in open curiosity. He couldn’t imagine how much worse the staring would be if he were in red, a color he had yet to see a single speck of in the entirety of their trek to the farrier. Objectively he’d known crimson dye was somewhat expensive, and thus might be considered rare, but it was still a bit jarring to realize it didn’t even exist in the form of signs or pennants.

Jason’s horse had been the one to throw a shoe, so once they made it to the farrier Tim let him handle the negotiations on getting her reshod. The witch just kept watch over their remaining horses and gear while waiting.

Jason returned a few minutes later and hauled himself up into the saddle behind Tim. “He says he has a few orders due today, but he can have her ready by tomorrow evening.”   
  
“Meaning we may as well stay a couple days and leave the morning after,” Tim said.   
  
“Exactly,” Jason said with a nod. “So I say we head for the tavern and grab a bite to eat before we secure a room for the night.”

Tim nodded his agreement and gave his horse a little click of the tongue to get him moving. A warm meal might be just the thing to brighten his mood after their unexpected detour.   
  
\---   
  
Tim upgraded his earlier assessment from might have been more sheltered than he’d thought, to DEFINITELY more sheltered than he’d thought. He had to literally bite his tongue to keep himself from complaining as they sat down to a meal at the local tavern. There was no menu here. His only choices were if he wanted wine, water, or ale. The meal was a trencher filled with a thick vegetable stew, sprinkled with an almost laughably small amount of lardons.   
  
“Tis been a while since we’ve had visitors.” the barmaid said as she set down the trenchers and a pair of wooden spoons. “From where do ye hail, luvs?”   
  
“Bludhaven.” Jason said before Tim could speak. “We’re on our way to Meiter Polis.”   
  
“Meiter Polis?” she asked with a soft gasp. “The bards say that even thae commoners live in buildings as tall as trees there, and that thae streets are paved in smooth stone instead of the jumble gut lanes we have ‘ere.”   
  
“The smooth lanes are only on the main path leading to the castle,” Jason said. “The rest of the city streets are cobblestone, but the buildings really are as tall as trees, and whitewashed to gleam in the sun.”   
  
“Oh what I wouldn’t give tae see it fer myself.” the woman sighed as she held her tray against her chest. She shook away the little daydream. “But I’ve no way of travelin’ there and no coin to survive once I was there besides.”   
  
“It’s only grand until your money runs out, then you long for the ability to simply head into the woods to hunt.” Jason said as he passed over a silver coin to pay for their meal. “Keep the rest.”   
  
The woman’s eyes lit up. “Why thankee luv! Oh, and if ye be heading to Meiter Polis ye’d best be taking the eastern road. The northern route be cursed.”   
  
“Cursed?” Tim asked, piping up for the first time.   
  
The barmaid nodded. “Aye. The local potion master used to live along that route. Deep in thae woods where ‘e could practice ‘is craft in peace.”   
  
“What happened to him?” Tim asked.   
  
The woman shivered. “I dinnae know. None of us do. All who went to visit after the last harvest never returned. Some say twasn’t a man at all, but a revenant biding its time to claim its due.”   
  
“I’d think you’d know at a glance if it was a revenant," Tim said.   
  
“Twas always covered head to toe in black, with the beak,” she said, making a pulling motion at her face to indicate the iconic beak of a plague doctor. “Caused quite the fright when they first arrived. We thought ‘e was a harbinger of doom, but ‘e simply brought out a bit of chalk and slate and drew pictures tae commune.”

“Weren’t no man under that cloth,” another patron interrupted. “Was too small fer that.”   
  
“This one’s a man and ‘es small,” the barmaid said, pointing to Tim.   
  
Tim twitched slightly at that assessment, but it wasn’t as if he could refute it. So he tried to focus on the matter at hand. “If there’s someone or something killing off your people why haven’t you put out a bounty on it, or asked the viscount for help?”   
  
“Look around, lad,” the patron drawled, pausing to drink deeply from his tankard. “Do we look like we can afford a good ‘unter? Besides...I say ‘twas just a case of thae devil collecting his due. That one was a witch. I’m sure o’ it. Prolly made a deal with a daemon tae get the power to heal the way she did.”

“Twasn’t a woman yae drunken git!” the barmad spat. “Yae only say that cause yae stopped trustin’ women when Shelie left yer drunk arse fer that travlin’ merchant last summer.”

The man scoffed. “Does nae change the fact that ‘doctor’ was right creepy. Good riddance I say.”   
  
“Hold yer tongue. Creepy or nae he saved the lot of us from chin cough last winter,” the barmaid said.   
  
“Exactly,” the patron said. “No normal person could do such a thing.”   
  
Tim held up his hand. “If I might interrupt. My friend here happens to be a hunter. If you tell us where this revenant, witch, doctor, potion master or whatever lived we’ll be happy to check it out for you and either eliminate it or report back on what we find so you can know the truth.”   
  
Jason paused in the middle of scraping up the last of the stew from his trencher and raised an eyebrow. Tim fixed him with a look that had him turning to the villagers and nodding in agreement. This was Tim’s little quest after all. If he wanted to go gallivanting off after some unknown threat, he wasn’t going to stop him. He didn’t think he could if he tried. No, it was better to just play along. Besides, he highly doubted it was anything they couldn’t handle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're new here and wondering what you may have missed if you haven't read _Daemonium Occulo_ here's the uber short summary. Jason is a werewolv and Tim is a witch. They're on a quest to retrieve a relic called the Demon's Eye. Jason was in tsundere mode at first, but now he and Tim have fallen in love and are continuing their quest with the occasional obligatory filler episode along the way.
> 
> If you're a long time reader...I swear I'm still working on the main narrative, please take this little interlude as an appetizer of sorts and put away the torches and pitchforks. I'm not Mel Brooks.


	2. Chapter 2

“Well this doesn’t bode well.” Tim murmured as Jason inspected the interior of the abandoned cabin. His werewolf companion had done a thorough sweep of the interior before he hauled open a door leading into a root cellar and dropped into the darkness below. Tim had caught sight of the eerie glow of the werewolf’s teal eyes shifting to see in the dark before Jason moved away from the tiny patch of sunlight beaming down from the open hatch.   
  
Tim sighed as Jason disappeared from view and opted to do his own sweep of the area, looking for any signs of mystical mischief. He wasn’t sensing anything demonic in the air and there was no sign of any old summoning circles under any of the rugs. So despite the ring of salt that surrounded the cabin proper, he highly doubted anything infernal had happened here. That eliminated the go to theory of the villagers further down the road.

“I don’t see any signs of foul play,” Jason said as he hauled himself out of the root cellar a few moments later. “Whoever was here hasn’t been down there in a while though. There was dust on all the barrels. I got some pretty good supplies though.”   
  
“Jason...are you seriously stealing this poor person’s provisions? What if they’re depending on those to get through winter?”   
  
“Trust me, Tim.” Jason said as he headed over to the hearth and swept out the old ashes. “Whoever was here isn’t coming back, or at the very least they aren’t coming back anytime soon. The hearth is ice cold and the wood has an inch of dust.”   
  
The werewolf picked up a small log and tapped it against his palm to prove his point. Dust scattered and fell like snow in the last dregs of light from the setting sun. “Besides, you know how superstitious people can be. The last few ‘visitors’ may have been killed by good old-fashioned stupidity and it was simpler for the villagers to just blame a scary no-name witch. Err...no offense.”   
  
“None taken,” Tim assured him before he wandered over to a set of shelves and drew down a small ceramic jar. He swiped his thumb over the label and squinted at the lettering before frowning. “By the gods and goddesses, their penmanship is atrocious. This could say ‘toe of frog’ or ‘tongue of dog.’ I honestly can’t say.”   
  
Jason’s face screwed up in a moue of disgust. “Some sick fuck cut out a dog’s tongue and kept it in a jar?”   
  
Tim looked over at Jason and laughed a little. “Not literally. Tongue of dog is just an overly dramatic name for  _ cynoglossum officinale _ . You may know it as gypsy flower.”   
  
“And toe of frog?” Jason asked.   
  
“Buttercups.” Tim said with a smile. “The former resident was likely just an amateur alchemist trying to build up their wares.”   
  
“Why the scary names?” Jason asked, “That seems like they were just asking for trouble.”   
  
“It’s easier to keep your concoctions a secret if people are turned away by your ingredient list.” Tim said. “It also helps keep people from accidentally poisoning themselves if they decide to try duplicating it on their own. Even relatively benign ingredients can be deadly if used incorrectly. I could kill a man with nutmeg and apple seeds if I used too much.”   
  
“Nutmeg and apple seeds?” Jason asked with a blink.   
  
“Nutmeg and apple seeds.” Tim said with a nod before returning the jar to its shelf. “Although I am curious why they chose to always appear covered head to toe in a dark cloak. Nobody could even tell us if we were looking for a man or woman.”   
  
“Better than the red cloak that identified you as royalty from a mile away.” Jason teased.   
  
“I swapped to brown at your behest and yet you still tease me.” Tim griped as he reached up to finger the new cloak draped about his shoulders. “I feel horrifically drab.”   
  
“Hey, it worked. Didn’t it? None of them had any clue that you’re the infamous Blood Red Robin.” Jason pointed out.   
  
“True enough.” Tim murmured as he moved to the rear of the house and looked out over the alchemist’s garden. “They certainly had a way with plants though. Their garden is quite lush. They have some of the largest pumpkins I’ve ever seen.”   
  
Jason moved over to look for himself as Tim wandered deeper into the garden, only to pause at the doorway as the small spot on his forehead from the dryad’s kiss began tingling. He let out a small hiss and touched his fingers to the spot. “What the hell?”   
  
“Hmm?” Tim asked as he looked back over his shoulder, blissfully unaware of the small green tendrils making their way towards him.   
  
“The dryad’s kiss.” Jason said. “It’s stinging for some re--LOOK OUT!!”   
  
Tim blinked and leapt away just as several vines tried to snag his ankle. He landed and immediately had to spring away again as the entire pumpkin patch seemed to come alive. The vines twisted and curled upon themselves like snakes, forming into a large central stalk that immediately targeted the small witch. Jason could actually feel the ground tremble when it slammed into the earth, just barely missing its target.    
  
Tim stayed on the move, dancing away from each attack as he tried to make his way back to the cabin. The vines seemed to realize that though and moved to sandwich him in.   
  
Jason growled and quickly whipped out his knife, fully ready to charge into the fray.    
  
“Stay there!” Tim shouted, sensing his companion’s intent. “I can handle this. I need you to go start a fire.”   
  
“You don’t even have a weapon!” Jason shouted back, only to pause a moment and watch in open awe as Tim snatched a small metal cylinder off his hip and somehow turned it into a full quarterstaff with a simple flick of his wrist. The witch landed atop a large stone in the garden and balanced perfectly as one of the pumpkins leapt at him with an audible snarl.   
  
Tim calmly swatted it out of the air, bursting the plump gourd open like a  piñata. Only instead of the usual amalgamation of seeds and stringy orange pumpkin flesh, blood splattered across the ground, painting the area in a grim trail of decidedly unnatural viscera.   
  
“You have got to be kidding me.” Jason murmured.   
  
“Jason! Fire!” Tim snapped as he spun the staff around his body and knocked another pumpkin out of the air with similar results.   
  
Jason snapped out of his trance and ran to the hearth to light the fire as requested.  He forced his hands not to tremble as he quickly stacked several small logs and grabbed a bit of kindling. He could still hear the disturbingly meaty thumps of Tim’s staff meeting pumpkins so he knew the witch was holding his own for the moment, but that didn’t keep him from wanting to be out there helping.   
  
Finally, after several agonizing seconds the logs began to burn so he ran back to the door, forehead flaring all the while. “Okay! I have the fire going. What now?”   
  
“Go to the shelves and toss in a good pinch each the following,” Tim grunted as he dove out of the way of another vine swipe.    
  
“Paw of Cat; Tail of Rat;”   
  
Tim rolled and sprang back to his feet, kicking another pumpkin out of the air with his steel-toed boots along the way.   
  
“Dew Of The Sea, and Elf Leaf.”    
  
Jason ran back to the shelf digging his way through all the jars to get what was needed and running back to the fire to toss them in. They instantly began to smolder and released a pungent smoke.   
  
“Good!” Tim shouted from outside. “Now sprinkle in some pure water to really get it smoking and I’ll handle the rest.”   
  
Jason dug out his canteen and did just that, coughing a little as the smoke turned black and irritated his poor nose. His subsequent run back to the door was fueled in equal parts concern for Tim and a desperate need for fresh air.   
  
It was like walking into a bloodbath. Between the heaps of blood red pumpkin flesh and goo covered vines it looked like Tim was fighting in a sea of entrails, entrails that were writhing in distress as the smoke from the chimney filled the area with a light haze.   
  
Tim took off at a run as the vines sluggishly tried to pursue him. He planted his rod into the ground as they tried to merge in on him again, vaulting over the mass and letting go just before they converged on the staff and snatched it deeper into the mass of roiling red and green.   
  
Jason sidestepped, allowing Tim to dive into the room, landing in a roll that put him back on his feet. The witch slammed his palms onto the floor of the cabin and began chanting. Jason’s eyes widened as tendrils of light shot out from around Tim’s palms and raced towards all edges of the house, or rather to the ring of salt surrounding said house.   
  
It was like an invisible wall went up between them and the vicious vines outside. He wisely remained silent until Tim finished his chanting and lifted his hands, panting from the exertion. “There...that should hold until morning. They won’t be nearly as dangerous in the daylight.”

Jason wrinkled his nose as one of the few remaining pumpkins tried to attack anyway, only to bounce off and roll a few feet away where it opened its mouth to reveal a set of sharp, putrid yellow teeth. “I thought vampire pumpkins were supposed to be harmless to human beings.”   
  
“They are.” Tim replied as he dropped back onto his ass, still panting softly. “Something changed them. Luckily the calming spell is still affecting them.”   
  
“Are you sure about that?” Jason asked as he watched the mutant gourds milling about.   
  
“Oh certainly.” Tim said. “They slowed down a good deal as soon as the smoke began drifting down. It’s how I escaped. How is the dryad’s kiss?”   
  
Jason reached up to touch his forehead. “A little better. It doesn’t burn anymore but it’s still...buzzing?”   
  
Tim nodded. “That likely won’t stop until we kill them off in the morning and help cleanse the ground. Those mutants are an affront to the natural order.”   
  
“Oh joy.” Jason murmured before turning back to Tim. “Are you okay?”   
  
“Fine.” Tim said, waving away the concern. “Compared to an actual demon that was as easy as pie.”   
  
Jason looked down and Tim and sniffed the air for any sign of the witch’s blood. “You look like you just got through murdering a small army...you smell a bit like it too.”   
  
“It’s human blood. Most likely the blood of whoever used to live here and whoever came after. Vampire vegetables usually don’t have teeth so I’m sure they ignored the signs until it was too late,” Tim said as he got back to his feet, “I don’t suppose I’m lucky enough for this place to have an indoor water pump down in the cellar, am I?”   
  
Jason shook his head. “Afraid not, but I could shift and lick you clean. Well mostly clean.”   
  
“You can still change form?” Tim asked, “I thought the pendant prevented that.”   
  
Jason shook his head again. “No, it helps me  _ control _ the change. It keeps me from going feral every full moon, or when I get especially agitated. Even if I shift I mostly maintain my human intelligence. It’s just a little harder to fight my basic instincts.”

“It still sounds a bit...odd,” Tim mused.   
  
“I’ve had my tongue up your arse while you scream for more, Tim. How is a bit of licking embarrassing you?” Jason asked. “Or is it about me being in wolf form for it?”   
  
“More that I’m covered in blood and vampire pumpkin flesh,” Tim said. “I cannot help but think that would be unpleasant to the tastebuds.”   
  
“Actually, you smell kind of tasty. Like a good rare steak and spiced pumpkin pasties.” Jason said. “Then again you always smell a bit like sugar and spice to me.”   
  
“I do?” Tim asked.   
  
Jason flushed a bit and nodded. “It’s...nice. It kind of makes me want to tuck myself against you and just inhale.”   
  
“I-ah-I see,” Tim said, blushing a little. “Well...I have been kind of curious what you look like in wolf form. So if you’re sure you don’t mind...”   
  
“I wouldn’t have offered if I did,” Jason said, “Just strip down, cover your crotch, and let me work.”   
  
Tim nodded and peeled off his clothes. He’d have to scrub them several times the next day to have any chance of salvaging them, but he wasn’t willing to wait quite that long with the blood and gourd guts coating his skin. Once he was naked he drew the cloak over his nether regions and nodded that he was ready.

Jason had stripped down himself in the interim and Tim couldn’t help but drink in the magnificent sight of his lover’s body. Perhaps it wasn’t the best thing to do when said lover was about to do something decidedly non-sexual, but dammit...he was only human. There was simply no denying the fact that Jason Peter Tood was one sexy beast.   
  
Jason quirked an eyebrow as he scented a spike in arousal from his companion.    
  
“What?” Tim asked. “I can’t help it if you’re attractive.”   
  
Jason just hummed and set aside his last article of clothing, leaving him nude save the pendant hanging about his throat. He dropped to all fours and then looked at Tim. “Lie back and just relax as best you can. I’ll make it quick.”   
  
Then, before he could even form words, Tim was staring at his lover in his other form. The witch gasped softly at the giant wolf that stood before him, intelligence shining in its glowing green eyes. Jason would never pass for a normal wolf in this form, not when he stood almost as tall on all fours as Tim did on two legs. The scrolls Tim had seen of dire wolves had done Jason a great disservice however, because Jason was still beautiful, even as he was radiating raw animal energy.   
  
The wolf padded over to Tim and snuffed at his chest before giving him a lick. Tim let out a startled laugh followed by a small grunt as the licking picked up in intensity. Honestly it was a bit like getting slobbered over by an overly enthusiastic puppy. Tim instinctively shifted his face to get it out of licking range as he was thoroughly licked from head to toe, but he wasn’t very successful.   
  
Eventually, Jason must have deemed him clean enough because he sat back on his haunches to eye his work. Tim’s skin was damp with werewolf slobber at that point, but at least he was no longer coated in blood and pumpkin guts.   
  
“Wait! Don’t change back yet,” Tim said as Jason began backing up.   
  
The wolf tilted its head to one side in query. Tim shifted onto his knees and reached out to touch run his hand along Jason’s chest.    
  
“Wow...you’re so soft. I was expecting your fur to be coarse,” Tim murmured.   
  
Jason snorted, but allowed the petting to continue.   
  
“Okay...back is a bit coarse. So you must have a double coat.” Tim mused before he picked up one of Jason’s paws. It was easily twice the size of his own palm. “Wow...you could knock a man’s head off with one swipe. Couldn’t you?”   
  
Jason responded by poking his nose into the crook of Tim’s neck and giving him a thorough snuffing. The witch smelled even better to him in wolf form, but thankfully it still wasn’t a ‘I want to eat you’ scent. He did however want to roll around in it. Tim had gone into academic mode on him, muttering about updating scrolls and the like, so Jason felt it was as good a time as any to break the spiral...by flopping onto the witch and licking this face from chin to forehead.   
  
“Ack! Thbt! Jason!! Get your tongue out of my mouth!”   
  
Jason just gave his lover a doggy grin, tail thumping in self-satisfied amusement.    
  
Tim stuck out his own tongue and scrubbed it against his arm before remembering it was covered in werewolf slobber as well. “Damnit Jason! Let me up! I need water.”   
  
Jason didn’t let Tim up, but he did reach out one huge paw to snag the strap of his canteen and dragged it close enough for Tim to reach it.   
  
“You’re being an ass again.” Tim huffed.   
  
Jason’s tail wagging picked up in intensity.   
  
Tim grumbled and grabbed the canteen, pouring a bit of water into his mouth so he could swish it about before spitting it out and recapping the bladder. “You’re lucky you’re cute.”   
  
Jason gave him another lick along the side of his face and let out a little ruff.   
  
“Yes, yes...I’m sure your ego is enjoying the boost,” Tim muttered, “Well you’re definitely not getting any special favors in this form so I hope you’re happy with that.”   
  
Jason nuzzled Tim and rolled to one side before he settled down for a rest in his lupine form. It had been a while since he’d ‘stretched his legs’ so to speak, even longer since he’d done so outside of hunting. It was actually somewhat...nice.   
  
“Not changing back for a bit then?” Tim asked as he looked at the giant wolf.   
  
Jason woofed and lay his head down.   
  
“Fine then...but I’m using you as a mattress.” Tim muttered before he crawled over and nestled himself against the werewolf’s belly.   
  
Jason smiled inside his mind and curled around his little witch. The rustling of the vampire pumpkins had all but died down, leaving just the crackling of the fire and Tim’s soft breathing. Jason couldn’t help but feel his heart melt a little as he watched the smaller man start to doze. The utter trust it took to literally fall asleep in the arms of an apex predator was humbling to say the least.    
  
Jason still wanted to be free of his lycanthropy of course, but for the first time in a long time he truly did feel like he could actually live with it rather than treating it as a burden to his existence. Tim had said he didn’t care of course, but Jason had still harbored a small amount of doubt. To have that doubt lifted made his heart want to soar. He HAD to get his cure. He finally had something, someone, to live for now. And he wasn’t letting him go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vampire vegetables are an actual bit of folklore passed down by the Romani in the Balkans. If you left your vegetables, especially pumpkins or other squash, in the field more than 10 days beyond harvest they'd supposedly turn into vampires. 
> 
> And yes...they were considered mostly harmless. You just smashed them and burnt the remains. 🧛🎃
> 
> Thanks so much to everyone that left kudos or just stopped in to give this odd little tale a try. Happy Halloween!


End file.
